VAVUNIYA, SRI LANKA, Sept 25, Reuter: Sri Lankan’s main Tamil Separatist group will never give up its armed struggle until minority Tamils get full rights in the island, a Guerrilla Leader said.

The Vavuniya Commander of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), known only as Dinesh, said in an interview with Reuters on Saturday that a ceasefire by Indian soldiers in Sri Lanka was a mere propaganda bluff.

“We are not greedy on the weapons and neither are we violent. We have the weapons to fight for a cause. Until our cause is fulfilled we’ll not give up our arms,” he said at a tiger hideout in this northern district.

He spoke hours before a 10 day truce was ended by about 52,000 Indian Soldiers based in the island’s north and east to implement an Indian Sri Lankan pact against the Tamil Separatist revolt.

Indian High Commissioner Jyotindra Nath Dixit has said the ceasefire gave the Tigers a chance to lay down their arms, declare support for the accord and join the democratic process.

A spokesman for India’s external affairs ministry said on Saturday the ceasefire would not be further renewed.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 30, 1988